Judaism's Little-Publicized Definition of Wealth

Judaism's actual definition of wealth might surprise you...

If I asked you, how does Judaism define wealth? You might respond with one of the most well-known teachings in Jewish tradition, as follows:

“Who is wealthy? He who is happy with his portion.”

The message is usually understood to be that wealth equals gratitude. Enjoying what we have, however great or small, is what makes us wealthy.

But what if I told you that this understanding misses at least half the point?

Let me explain. Jewish tradition states: “Who is wealthy? He who is happy with his portion. As it says, ‘When you eat the fruits of your labor, you are praiseworthy and it is good for you.’ Praiseworthy – in this world. And it is good for you – in the world to come.”

There’s a lot there that the first synopsis kind of misses. Let me explain what I am thoroughly convinced Jewish tradition is actually saying.

Imagine that God, upon dispatching each of our souls to earth, gives us each a basket. He commands us, “Fill your basket and eat from your basket.” Then we are sent on our way.

Now, there are three ways a person can go through life vis-à-vis this basket.

The first man fills his basket. But when he sits down to eat, he can’t help looking around at other people. Some people’s baskets appear to be overflowing, or to contain much better food than his. He starts to feel miserable about what he has. This man is eating his portion, but he is not happy as he does it.

The second man begins to fill his basket, but then, seeing others’ baskets, he says, “You know, I really don’t have enough in my basket. Can I have some of yours?” Others give him of theirs. When he sits down to eat, he is genuinely happy as he eats. But what he eats is not truly his portion, as he has received it from others. So once again, he has only fulfilled half the injunction.

The final man fills his basket. He sits down and eats from his basket. And he is happy as he eats. We have found, at last, the truly rich man.

See – there are two aspects of wealth, according to Jewish tradition.

The first is happiness. You simply will never be wealthy if you do not enjoy what you have.

The second is in your portion. This means, in what you have worked for. No matter how much money (or other forms of wealth) a person may have, if he has not worked for it himself, it will never render him truly wealthy.

I can’t really overstate that enough, because it is the part of this teaching that routinely gets overlooked. And yet, I am not offering some radical, off-the-wall understanding. Our own commentators clearly come out in favor of this.

Not only this, but the follow-up to the statement makes it clear that by living out this definition of wealth, not only do we incur material benefit, but spiritual benefit as well!

What emerges from this teaching is a radical idea. And that idea is that self-reliance and reliance on God are actually two sides of the same coin.

Wait, what??? How does that make sense??

And all I can say to that is – stay tuned.

If you found this content enlightening, please share!

To subscribe to this blog, email faithbasedbusinessblog@gmail.com.